HRH the Princess Margaret in British East Africa and Mauritius, 1956
Extract Date: 1956, October

The Princess's first engagement in Arusha

The Princess's first engagement in Arusha on Tuesday, 16th October, was a now familiar baraza held in the shadow of Mount Meru, and impressive mountain whose stark peak reaches 14,979 ft. Here she received a rousing welcome from thousands of African school children. A picnic lunch was taken on the shores of Lake Duluti, and then Her Royal Highness entered a safari car to drive to the Ngurdoto crater, a famed resort of wild animals. From the lip of the crater the Princess gazed down upon a herd of 150 buffalo and saw 15 elephants with a young calf running alongside. Shortly afterwards a mighty bull elephant moved through the high grass, but a giraffe which she particularly wanted to see failed to appear. The next day at a game farm, the owner, Mr. AugustKuenzler, showed her how fast-running animals are caught with a noose and pole attached to a lorry.

A pleasant task for PrincessMargaret during her visit to the game farm at Arusha on Wednesday, 17th October, was to choose two zebras that were to be given to Prince Charles and Princess Anne by the owner, Mr. Kuenzler. The choice was not that easy as there were 20 to choose from, but at last she indicated the pair she preferred. The Governor of Tanganyika, Sir Edward Twinning, caused a roar of laughter when he asked in the tones of a shop walker, 'and to what address shall I send them, Madam?' 'Home!' replied the Princess.

She then delighted the photographers by feeding the giraffes and taking many photographs of her own with a miniature camera. She was charmed by a baby elephant, saw a young rhinoceros and fed some strutting ostriches with corn.

Her Royal Highness's only public engagement was on outdoor reception at the European School........